Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been accused of using smear tactics to cling to power, after he claimed that Arab Israeli parties had used foreign backing to “steal” Tuesday’s election.
Netanyahu and other right-wing politicians alleged on Thursday that Qatar financed a campaign to increase the Arab voter turnout in the election, which reached an unprecedented 80 per cent.
The Shin Bet security agency, which is run by a Netanyahu appointee, is investigating the claims which have been rejected by Qatar and the Arab parties.
Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the main opposition bloc, accused Netanyahu of conducting a campaign to delegitimise the election and vowed not to allow the obstruction of the opening of the Knesset.
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“It’s already clear that Likud and Netanyahu have embarked on a co-ordinated, organised campaign seeking to delegitimise the results of the election,” Eisenkot said in a video message.
Opposition lawmakers noted that it was Netanyahu himself who allowed Qatari money to reach Hamas in Gaza and hired senior officials who were being paid by Qatar.
[ Israeli election result leaves door open to fresh Iran strikesOpens in new window ]
Netanyahu’s allegations were disowned by a range of government officials, including police officers and members of the election committee. Netanyahu was also rebuked by the president for “tarnishing an entire community”.
The development came as the final votes from Tuesday’s election were counted. Netanyahu’s Likud party and its far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies won 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset parliament.
Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party and three other Jewish Opposition parties together won 48 seats.
The remaining 19 seats were divided between two Arab parties.
Likud is the largest party, with 27 seats, followed by Yashar with 21.
The results mean that both the Netanyahu bloc and the anti-Netanyahu, or change bloc, are far from achieving a parliamentary majority.
If the Arab parties are included there is a clear majority for parties who want Netanyahu replaced as Israel’s leader – 67 in total – but right-wing Opposition parties have stated that they will not sit in a coalition with Arab parties.
The result means Israel is entering a period of political uncertainty with no clear path towards a governing majority.
Despite the relatively disappointing poll results for the opposition, Eisenkot vowed on Thursday to push ahead with efforts to form a government, which will have to rely on the support of the Arab parties.
However, the right-wing Opposition parties, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad, have still not committed to such a move.
Next week, after receiving the official results, president Yitzhak Herzog will consult the leaders of all the parties elected to the new Knesset and hear their recommendations on who should be prime minister. He will then task a party leader with forming a coalition.
At this juncture it is not clear if that will be Netanyahu or Eisenkot. The chosen candidate will not necessarily be the leader of the largest party or even the candidate who receives the most recommendations.
Herzog will choose the candidate he believes has the best chance of cobbling together a coalition.
Four of the last five candidates given the mandate by the president failed to form a coalition. If both Netanyahu and Eisenkot (not necessarily in that order) fail to form a coalition, then the Knesset can, in theory, choose another candidate.
The whole process could drag out for more than two months and if there is still no government then Israel will hold another election in the spring. Meanwhile, Netanyahu will continue as caretaker prime minister.
Herzog says he will do everything in his power to avoid such a scenario and has urged the party leaders to enter the coalition discussions with an open mind. He has hinted that he will push for a unity government, but given the deep animosity all the opposition leaders have towards Netanyahu prospects for a unity government are not great.
A resumption of the war with Iran may provide impetus to efforts to form a unity government and some opposition politicians suspect that this may be Netanyahu’s plan.
There is also speculation that president Trump may intervene and exert pressure for a unity government, arguing that the US needs a stable military ally.
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